1. Technical Field
The invention relates generally to personal healthcare products, and more particularly, to a system and method for packaging, merchandising, storing, and dispensing personal healthcare products.
2. Background Art
Personal healthcare products encompass a wide variety of products intended to treat and/or alleviate health conditions. Personal healthcare products are typically administered by the individual with the particular health condition to be treated and/or alleviated. Such products may also be administered by a non-healthcare professional, such as a parent or caregiver of an individual with a health condition.
Personal healthcare products include first aid medications intended to treat topical wounds; mouthwashes; tooth and gum analgesics; dental floss; tooth brushes; breath fresheners; breath sprays; treatments for upper respiratory conditions, including decongestants, antihistamines, cough suppressants, and medicaments for allergy, cold, cough, or sinus relief; anti-gas remedies; eye care solutions; antacids; gastrointestinal treatments; anti-itch preparations; bandages; lip care treatments; lotions; motion sickness treatments; anti-diarrheals; analgesics; allergy medications; medicines; sanitizers; wipes; tissues; antibiotic ointments; sprays; topical analgesics; heating patches; hair regrowth compositions; anti-inflammatory treatments; gums (e.g., nicotine-containing, tooth-whitening, etc.); tobacco dependence treatments, etc.
Current systems and methods for packaging, storing, merchandising, dispensing, and using consumer healthcare products are not well suited for users perceived as having a greater need for portable or mobile healthcare. For example, typical merchandising systems, such as those employed in food and drug outlets, separate personal healthcare products according to category or symptom. For example, various brands of products for pain treatment are grouped together on a shelf or in a section while various brands of products for the treatment of upper respiratory ailments are separately grouped together on a different shelf or in a different section.
Such merchandising systems are not ideal for customers perceived as having a greater need for portable or mobile healthcare. Customers with limited time to shop and make choices as to personal healthcare items may find it frustrating to go through all of the shelves, sections, or aisles of a merchandiser to find and/or obtain the products they desire or need. Those with limited time, who are often traveling or otherwise away from home, or those who do not plan in advance for their personal healthcare needs, may find it helpful to have selected or core personal healthcare items provided in a central, localized, and/or defined area.
Others have attempted to provide devices for containing and/or dispensing personal healthcare products for use when traveling. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,351,818 to Daneshvar describes a box for housing medicines in separate compartments as an aid in adhering to a dosage regimen. However, the Daneshvar device suffers from a number of defects. First, it is relatively large, making it impractical for use when traveling. Second, it is capable of housing personal healthcare products of only a few, limited forms. Specifically, the Daneshvar device is capable of housing only solid products, such as pills and tablets. Third, personal healthcare products housed in the Daneshvar device still must be purchased in typical packaging (e.g., pill bottles, etc.) and then transferred to the device.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0218031 to Murphy describes interlocking storage units, wherein individual units may be disconnected from a larger group of interlocked units and used, for example, when traveling. However, as with the Daneshvar device discussed above, the Murphy device in incapable of housing many forms of personal healthcare products, such as liquids, gels, and powders. The Murphy device also requires the purchase of personal healthcare products in typical packaging and then the transfer of such products to the device.
To this extent, a need exists for a system and method for packaging, merchandising, storing, and/or dispensing personal healthcare products that do not suffer from the defects of known systems and methods.